NACLA Update 7/22/10 - NACLA Condemns State Dept Denial of Visa for Hollman Morris



Against the New McCarthyism: A NACLA Statement on Hollman Morris
by NACLA

The North American Congress on Latin America denounces the State Department's decision to deny a visa to Colombian TV journalist Hollman Morris. Morris was slated to receive the Samuel Chavkin Award for Integrity in Latin American Journalism, given by NACLA in recognition of his brave and uncompromising coverage of the armed conflict in Colombia. NACLA originally planned to hold the Chavkin Award ceremony on June 8 but had to postpone it when it became clear that the U.S. Embassy was taking much longer than usual to renew Morris's tourist visa. The government later denied Morris a student visa that would allow him to take up a prestigious Nieman Foundation fellowship to study at Harvard University.

The visa denial appears to be intended to punish Morris for his reporting on the Colombian peace and human rights movement. According to the "refusal worksheet" provided to Morris by the State Department, the visa was denied under section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which, as amended by section 411 of the USA Patriot Act, bars visas from being granted to any foreigner who has used his or her "position of prominence" to "endorse or espouse terrorist activity, or to persuade others to support terrorist activity or a terrorist organization."

In denying Morris a visa on these grounds, the State Department joins the Colombian government in tarring Morris as a "publicist for terrorism," in the words of Colombian president Álvaro Uribe. Since coming to power in 2002, Uribe has often portrayed Colombia's human rights community, peace activists, and others who favor a negotiated peace settlement as in league with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's more than 40-year-old guerrilla insurgency and a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Documents made public in April show that Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS), a domestic intelligence agency under the command of the presidency, in 2005 launched what it called a "smear campaign at the international level" against Morris.

"Negotiate the suspension of [U.S.] visa" appears on the agency's list of tactics against Morris (which also included the dissemination of defamatory materials, wiretaps, and physical surveillance). Morris was targeted as a part of a broader dirty tricks program aimed at silencing and intimidating government critics; almost two dozen former DAS officials are awaiting trial on criminal conspiracy charges in connection with the scandal. Although no evidence has appeared to suggest that a request from Colombian intelligence directly led the State Department to deny the visa, the decision nonetheless exactly coincides with one of the smear campaign's goals.

Continue Reading...

Your subscription is vital to our work. Support NACLA today by subscribing to the award-winning NACLA Report.
Please consider making a contribution to support NACLA's important work.


Visit the NACLA Store to purchase back issues of the Report, books, and more.


NACLA EMPLOYMENT
NACLA seeks a full-time Director-Publisher.


To unsubscribe please reply to this e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.


CONTACT US:
NACLA | 38 GREENE ST. 4TH FL., NEW YORK NY 10013 | TEL: (646) 613-1440 | FAX (646) 613-1443 | info@nacla.org

Donate to Support the North American Congress on Latin America